Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Louise F. Rogers, Chief, San Mateo County Health
Kimberlee Kimura, Director, Health Administration
Subject: Agreement with Excel Interpreting, LLC for Language Interpretation Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an agreement with Excel Interpreting, LLC for language interpretation services, for the term of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022, in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000.
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BACKGROUND:
In October 2006, your Board accepted the "Linguistic Access Study: Summary of Findings and Recommendations Report." A key recommendation noted in the report was to expand the availability and use of oral language services and translation services to wider a range of settings and languages.
Since 2010, County Health has contracted with various agencies to provide in-person interpretation services to the various Health divisions in order to bridge the language gap between our staff and the County's limited English proficient residents to support the provision of high quality and timely care to our most vulnerable clients. County Health staff members utilize these services throughout the County in various settings, such as one-on-one clinic appointments, group counseling sessions, home visits, training sessions, and community meetings.
In FY 2017-18, 2,245 client interactions were served with in-person interpreters. We anticipate the demand in the upcoming fiscal years to increase due to a more diverse and changing client base, and due to better staff and community education on the rights of clients to be provided linguistically appropriate services in the language of their choosing.
DISCUSSION:
In February 2019, County Health released a Request for Proposals for qualified contractors to provide interpretation and translation services for all divisions of Health. Excel Interpreting, LLC competed in this process and is o...
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